Coming into UFC 217, the bitter rivalry between Cody Garbrandt and his former teammate T.J. Dillashaw was at an all time high. The two had been trash talking, having physical altercations during the filming of TUF and everything else in between.
On Saturday night Garbrandt and Dillashaw finally got their chance step into the octagon and it was fireworks from the opening round. Cody was able to drop and almost get the finish but Dillashaw was actually saved by the bell at the end of round one. In the second round, Dillashaw was able to land a hard shot and follow up with more strikes until the referee stepped in to halt the fight.
After the finish, there was a lot of commotion in the octagon due to the emotions involved with T.J. yelling at Cody who was protesting the stoppage. But Dillashaw explained that he was actually congratulating him, not yelling in anger.
“Congratulations man,” Dillashaw told Joe Rogan when asked what he said to Cody at the end of the fight. “He’s a hell of a fighter. He’s young, he’s gonna be back. I’m gonna see him again, you know?”
